


Saltwater Taffy

by Cyane



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Brother Feels, Character Study, Gen, Grunkle Stan Needs A Hug, Introspection, Swing Set
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 07:05:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12228006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyane/pseuds/Cyane
Summary: There are five swings.The original two, sitting towards the sun in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey.Two sitting perfectly stable, in Stanford's mindscape.And one swing sitting crookedly in Stanley's.





	Saltwater Taffy

**Author's Note:**

> Yay me for writing more GF Stan!Centric shorts.

**The Original Two**

The original swings sat facing the ocean in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey. They faced the sun while it would set, watching the end of a day. Somehow, it had become a place where everything else in Stanley and Stanford's childhood had taken place. 

They sat there for hours. Sometimes in silence, just watching the sea grow still, watching the sun slowly dip behind the horizon. Sometimes they would talk, and Stan would comfort his brother. _You're not a freak, like they said._ Sometimes Stanford would comfort his brother. _You're not worthless. You're not stupid._

Good memories... _One day we'll finally get out of this dump. Just you and me forever, okay?_ and bad memories. _I guess you better come visit me on the other side of the country._

And that was the day that they didn't get up and leave together. That was the day that Stanford got up by himself and walked away, and Stanley watched the sun set one last time. 

The end of an era.

 

**Stanford's Mindscape**

Stanford had two swings set up in his mindscape. A somewhat sentimental reminder of his past, along with a broken and crumbling Stan O' War. Farther behind it was the portal he and Fiddleford had built together, also crumbling.

Three reminders of his own failures.

The swing set was the one, out of all three items, that was still in impeccable shape. Not one scratch, dent, crack, scuff... in perfect condition. Because Stanford had never had any bad memories with those swings. All he had were the few moments with his brother, at an earlier time, before everything else had gone to hell. Those swings represented a good part of his childhood, before Stanley had ruined his life.

 

**Stanley's Mindscape**

Stanley had a swing set in his own mindscape, but only one working swing. The other had been snapped violently in half, splinters jutting out at both ends. It was a metaphor for two things.  
First, that it had been Stanford's swing, and it had only broken in his mind when Ford had closed those curtains on him. The swing was all of Stanley's trust in his brother, which hadn't shattered beautifully like glass, but had been forcibly torn apart. You can put glass together; it might take pain and effort and time-- but you can put glass together again. When wood splinters in half, there is no going back. You just have to get a new piece of wood.

The second was Stanley Himself. On the last day Stanley remembered of those swings-- staring at the sunset while Ford walked away-- Stanley had been sitting in the now-splintered seat. Because at that moment, everything had became clear. Stanford would leave him, go on to live his life, while Stanley would remain a worthless failure in New Jersey, scraping barnacles off of--

And as Stanley realized this, he broke in half, realizing that his other half was leaving.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is short and has little to no plot, I just love/hate the connections between the swings. A lot of people say that Stanford's swings are in peak condition still because he "still trusts his brother", but that makes me angry as hell, honestly. To me it really just says that Ford never admitted to himself that he'd hurt Stanley, and he refused to accept that their relationship was hurt, instead moving on. I dunno, just some thoughts.


End file.
